The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is working on a draft amendment to explicitely list “torture” as an offense, to deter its use by police and law enforcement officers while questioning suspects, the ministry said in a news release yesterday.
“Use of torture is forbidden throughout the world, and its prohibition is affirmed in a number of international conventions. Taiwan must uphold the protection for human rights and fundamental freedoms,” it said.
UN experts in 2017 recommended that Taiwan introduce legislation against torture, the ministry said, adding that it would seek to expand Article 125 of the Criminal Code with an explicit prohibition of torture.
Photo: Wu Cheng-fong, Taipei Times
The article prohibits the “abuse of power” and related offenses by public officials and the “use of violence to extract confession [leading to] an innocent person being prosecuted or punished.”
Draft legislation would prescribe jail sentences of three three to 10 years, it said.
The ministry would also seek to define more clearly that the article applies to court judges, prosecutors and police officers and officers at the Coast Guard Administration, the Investigation Bureau, the Agency Against Corruption, the National Immigration Agency and military police units, it said.
National Police Agency officials criticized the proposal, saying that it would lead to unsubstantiated torture accusations against law enforcement agencies.
Police might face accusations in cases where it restrained a suspect or acted out of self-defense, they said, adding that courts would be swamped with cases filed by convicts.
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